Illuminating Anaphase
The faceoff between these two fiery-looking groups of chromosomes represents a key part of cell division – the process that cells undergo when they divide to make more cells. These images show a stage of cell division called anaphase, in which a cell pulls two sets of its DNA (one set newly copied) to the cell’s opposite ends.
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DownloadIlluminating Anaphase
The faceoff between these two fiery-looking groups of chromosomes represents a key part of cell division – the process that cells undergo when they divide to make more cells. These images show a stage of cell division called anaphase, in which a cell pulls two sets of its DNA (one set newly copied) to the cell’s opposite ends.
What am I looking at?
These images show a single cell in the middle dividing into two so-called daughter cells. The stage of the cell division process represented here is called anaphase. In these images, the DNA is orange (1) and the microtubules are white (2).
Click on the right arrow to see additional images of a cell at slightly different points within anaphase.
Biology in the background
The cells in our bodies don’t last a lifetime. Most cells end up going through cell division at some point. During this process, a single cell divides into two new cells, each a copy of the original cell. Before a cell can divide, it needs to make a copy of all its DNA and other cellular components so each new cell has the same DNA and cellular machinery. During the cell division stage represented in these images, the copied DNA is pulled along cellular highways known as microtubules to opposite sides of the dividing cell.
A human chromosome is between 1 and 2 micrometers long, or roughly 50 to 100 times smaller than the width of a human hair. And a microtubule is about 25 nanometers in diameter, or roughly 4,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair.
Technique
These images were created using fluorescence microscopy.
Andy Moore, HHMI's Janelia Research Campus